Col. Andrew Lawrence, the Installation Management Command–Europe command chaplain, speaks at a celebration in Wiesbaden, Germany, July 29, 2025, honoring the 250th anniversary of the Army Chaplain Corps. The Army's cancellation of all contracts for religious coordinators and administrators drew a stern response in October from the leader of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. (Stephen Perez/U.S. Army)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Army chaplains ministering to Catholics in military communities here and elsewhere say their pastoral burden has become overwhelming since the service canceled contracts for a number of vital support roles earlier this year.

That decision deprived Army religious communities of staffers whose duties included such things as educational instruction, music for worship and administrative assistance.

Although the mandate is not directed at a specific denomination, Catholic leaders have been particularly vocal about the change, as highlighted by an October pastoral letter from the head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio said the action “disproportionately harms Catholics” because priests are already in high demand and the Catholic liturgy requires specialized support.

“In canceling these contracts, the Army over-burdens Catholic chaplains, harms chapel communities, and impedes the constitutional guarantee of the free exercise of religion especially for Catholics,” Broglio wrote on Oct. 17.

In Kaiserslautern, chaplains who serve in the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz lost out on their ability to fill a yearlong vacancy for the post of pastoral life coordinator.

The previous holder of that job performed administrative duties for three locations, including keeping track of sacramental records and coordinating with the Army to make sure community needs were met. 

Chaplains and volunteers have been trying to keep pace in the interim, but now they worry that they’ll have to shoulder the burden indefinitely.

“If you ask any Catholic chaplain, they will tell you we are struggling to manage a crisis that we are not prepared for,” said Maj. Philip Tah, one of three full-time Catholic priests serving U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz.

Each Catholic chaplain in the garrison is assigned to a unit, where they serve soldiers during the week, in addition to celebrating daily Mass and officiating Sunday services.

It’s already a demanding job, but having to pick up the duties of the pastoral life coordinator has been nearly impossible, Tah said, adding that some days he doesn’t even have time to eat lunch.

The contract cancellations were to take effect no later than Oct. 1, according to a March memo from Installation Management Command’s Religious Support Office, which oversees religious activities in Army garrisons.

The command raised concerns that the religious coordinator contracts overlapped with the duties of chaplains or other support personnel.

“It creates a redundancy and is strictly prohibited to use a different funding stream to contract for tasks and services already included in validated manning requirements,” the memo states.

But Scott Matthews, a retired Army colonel and president of the pastoral advisory council at the Daenner Catholic Community in Kaiserslautern, said the contract support is essential.

“Service members and their families are used to this kind of support at Catholic parishes back home, and they deserve the same level of pastoral care while serving overseas,” Matthews said.

The chapel at Daenner Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Installation Management Command's Religious Support Office was directed earlier this year to cancel all contracts for religious coordinators and administrators. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Broglio’s letter, which was also sent to all members of Congress, emphasized the work of pastoral life coordinators and coordinators of religious education.

The Archdiocese for the Military Services “has been especially dependent upon the professional skills and theological training” of the religious education coordinators, whose responsibilities include coordinating catechist certification and ensuring the use of proper materials, he wrote.

He added that despite repeated assurances the Army would provide substitutes to fill the gaps caused by the cancellation of the contracts, “that has not happened, and it is, in fact, impossible.”

For Kaiserslautern-area residents like Jessica Castillo, having a thriving church community is important to service members so far from home. In this part of Germany, there are few Catholic services offered in English.

Castillo regularly attends Mass at the Daenner Kaserne chapel with her three children and her husband, an Army lieutenant colonel. On a recent Sunday, nearly 200 members of the U.S. military community packed the pews of the chapel for Mass.

Castillo and her husband volunteer to help with religious education, but she said she’s concerned about what will happen now that the Army has canceled the support contracts.

“Our priests give so much of themselves,” Castillo said. “But at the same time, without volunteers and priests willing to just pour themselves out, it doesn’t work.”

Ashley Cranfill, whose husband is on active duty in the Air Force, has been coming to Daenner Chapel with their two kids for nearly three years.

Cranfill said three or four volunteers have been filling in since their congregation lost its pastoral life coordinator last year. She’s not sure how sustainable that solution will be in the long term.

“I’m grateful for the community and that we’re rallying together,” she said. “But it will become burdensome if we have to continue to do it all by ourselves.”

Army chaplain Maj. Philip Tah, one of three full-time Catholic priests serving in U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, speaks during a change of responsibility ceremony in Sembach, Germany, April 28, 2025. (U.S. Army)

Some hope for a restoration of the support positions came in an email the Archdiocese for the Military Services sent to chaplains in late October.

It said Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had committed to reinstating the contracts within one month.

However, an Army spokesman who responded to questions about Broglio’s concerns declined to provide a timeline or say whether Driscoll had made such a commitment.

Contract support for religious services will be reexamined to soften the impact on the military, Col. Marty Meiners said in a statement.

“These roles are vital in supporting the spiritual well-being of our community,” Meiners said. “The Army is committed to ensuring the continued provision of comprehensive religious support for all our service members and their families.”